Say Goodbye to Passwords (Infographic)

Allison Howen

Posted on 5.23.2016

Passwords may be going extinct, as a new report from Gigya reveals that 52 percent of consumers would choose anything but a traditional username and password account registration when given the option.

The “Businesses Should Begin Preparing for the Death of the Password” study suggests that businesses should consider adopting secure and modern password alternatives like social login, two-factor authentication or biometrics authentication – which includes fingerprints, voice recognition or iris scanning technology. In fact, 80 percent of consumers who expressed a preference believe biometric authentication is more secure than traditional usernames and passwords.

Additional data found that just 16 percent of respondents follow password best practices with a unique password for each online account. In fact, 6 percent use the same password for all accounts and 63 percent use seven or fewer passwords across accounts. Perhaps the most shocking stat, however, is that just 33 percent of millennials create secure passwords for everything, with the rest using generic or common passwords. Conversely, 42 percent of Generation X and 53 percent of Baby Boomers always create secure passwords.

It is also important to note that the study shed light on security issues, revealing that 26 percent of all respondents have had at least one online account compromised in the past 12 months. When segmented by generation, 35 percent of millennials, 28 percent of Generation X and 18 percent of Baby Boomers reported having online accounts compromised. What’s more, the data shows that 68 percent of respondents abandon the creation of an online account due to complex password requirements, while 55 percent abandon a login page because they forgot their passwords or answered a security question incorrectly.

“Within the next 10 years, traditional passwords will be dead as an authentication form,” said Patrick Salyer, CEO of Gigya. “Consumer-focused brands require modern customer identity management infrastructures that support newer, more secure authentication methods, such as biometrics. Businesses that are already using advanced authentication methods demonstrate increased customer registration and engagement while enjoying greater login convenience and security.”

Learn more about the report by checking out Gigya’s infographic below (click to enlarge):